Post: #7151

I've found that out of all SEA, Manila/Makati really only has the english draw going for it. Price/value wise it's not great.

Culture? What culture?

Food? Average at best.

Infrastructure? Almost Jakartan standards.

Great place to rack up notches and speak english but other places in SEA do it better mostly. Perhaps the reason it is hard to find people there long term is because of the need to pull down actual cash to live the higher end lifestyle.

Post: #7152

Can anyone recommend a great burger spot around the BGC/Makati area? Lazy Bastard was my go-to and made the most delicious burgers I've had in my life but I just tried to go there and it has closed down. Out of the other highly acclaimed spots that I know of, Sweet Ecstacy is ok but very overrated. 8cuts is the same. Filling Station is very good and my current favourite but still far from the greatness of Lazy Bastard (not to mention expensive).

Post: #7153

Did anyone here get their visa extended since they ran out of passport stickers and then lose your receipt? What happened?

Post: #7154

(02-21-2019 01:48 AM)croquet Wrote:  I've found that out of all SEA, Manila/Makati really only has the english draw going for it. Price/value wise it's not great.

Culture? What culture?

Food? Average at best.

Infrastructure? Almost Jakartan standards.

Great place to rack up notches and speak english but other places in SEA do it better mostly. Perhaps the reason it is hard to find people there long term is because of the need to pull down actual cash to live the higher end lifestyle.

I disagree.

Culture? What culture?

Fair point but I find the "lack of culture" to be a positive. I can enjoy all the benefits of living somewhere like Southeast Asia but without the culture shock and without feeling like too much of an outsider. In other Southeast Asian cities, you'd have to either live like a local or live in an expat bubble, neither of which are particularly appealing to me, but the lines between those are much more blurred in Manila which makes for a better place for me to live.

Food? Average at best.

I strongly disagree. The food is perhaps Manila's greatest strength that is rarely mentioned. You could eat at a good new restaurant every day for years and never run out of new places to try. True, you can't just rock up at the side of a random street and expect to get a good meal for $2 like you could in Thailand or Vietnam but if you're willing to spend the price of a Big Mac meal in the west, your options are endless.

Infrastructure? Almost Jakartan standards.

True and frustrating. The other side of that coin though is living in BGC. I've yet to find somewhere else in Southeast Asia (aside from Singapore) that compares if you want a dignified and orderly but lively city life.

Post: #7155

(02-22-2019 12:27 PM)the-dream Wrote:  Can anyone recommend a great burger spot around the BGC/Makati area? Lazy Bastard was my go-to and made the most delicious burgers I've had in my life but I just tried to go there and it has closed down. Out of the other highly acclaimed spots that I know of, Sweet Ecstacy is ok but very overrated. 8cuts is the same. Filling Station is very good and my current favourite but still far from the greatness of Lazy Bastard (not to mention expensive).

Jollibee

Raging Bull Burgers in BGC is pretty good. Also Pound in High Street area. Shake Shack is also opening a location in BGC (suppose to have good burgers?)

Post: #7156

(02-23-2019 02:55 AM)chickenadobo Wrote:  

(02-22-2019 12:27 PM)the-dream Wrote:  Can anyone recommend a great burger spot around the BGC/Makati area? Lazy Bastard was my go-to and made the most delicious burgers I've had in my life but I just tried to go there and it has closed down. Out of the other highly acclaimed spots that I know of, Sweet Ecstacy is ok but very overrated. 8cuts is the same. Filling Station is very good and my current favourite but still far from the greatness of Lazy Bastard (not to mention expensive).

Jollibee

Raging Bull Burgers in BGC is pretty good. Also Pound in High Street area. Shake Shack is also opening a location in BGC (suppose to have good burgers?)

Ya, Pound by Todd English at BGC High Street is good. There are a few more, Mall of Asia, Megamall and Robinson's Malate.

Handlebar and Howzat in Makati have pretty good burgers. The Brewery at The Palace/Uptown Parade has good burgers plus good beer.
Blackwood in Greenfield, Ortigas also good burgers.

For pizza, only two places I think: Gino's and Motorino

Post: #7157

I second Raging Bull Burgers in BGC.

Post: #7158

I just hate the women of this country. I hate stupidity. Some girl after talking to me -online-, a regular girl, 21 years old, into music, marketing, film etc - has spilled the entire 'I love you' passion after something like 40 messages over the course of 2 days. She's been seething with low-IQ false-aggression (to try and seem cute or try and ignite a 'passionate' fight...for fuck sake lol) and 'crying' and 'drinking' over the fact I've 'used' her. By wanting to talk briefly, and see whether or not i vibed with her - thinking from the outside looking in, that she looked like the first smart Filipina I'd accidentally come across. Alas. knowledge is not intelligence. These girls make me throw up for their immature attachments. They're intrinsically linked together. They're emotionally & socially retarded. Literally.

Post: #7159

(02-26-2019 06:09 AM)montaigne Wrote:  I just hate the women of this country. I hate stupidity. Some girl after talking to me -online-, a regular girl, 21 years old, into music, marketing, film etc - has spilled the entire 'I love you' passion after something like 40 messages over the course of 2 days. She's been seething with low-IQ false-aggression (to try and seem cute or try and ignite a 'passionate' fight...for fuck sake lol) and 'crying' and 'drinking' over the fact I've 'used' her. By wanting to talk briefly, and see whether or not i vibed with her - thinking from the outside looking in, that she looked like the first smart Filipina I'd accidentally come across. Alas. knowledge is not intelligence. These girls make me throw up for their immature attachments. They're intrinsically linked together. They're emotionally & socially retarded. Literally.

Huh? You are referring to an internet relationship that you established? Did you actually meet the chick? seems like no, right? What you are saying, even if true, makes little sense, including the conclusions that you reach, if you are basing such conclusions about how Filipinas are based on your various back and forth electronic communications (that seemed to have taken a turn for the worse) with one chick that you thought might be able to interact with you within your expectations on how things should go...

Post: #7160

(02-26-2019 06:09 AM)montaigne Wrote:  I just hate the women of this country. I hate stupidity. Some girl after talking to me -online

Was this on Tinder or Filipino Cupid?

Post: #7161

Looks like this thread is having a slow death. Does anyone like the Philippines anymore?

Post: #7162

Because tinder is dead now.

Post: #7163

(03-09-2019 07:58 AM)Trancemission Wrote:  Because tinder is dead now.

Since tinder is dead, means the Philippines is not a destination to visit?

Post: #7164

(03-09-2019 07:58 AM)Trancemission Wrote:  Because tinder is dead now.

Really? It's died in 4 months?! Because I was using it in Cebu Oct / Nov last year and it was giving me pretty decent results.

Post: #7165

(03-09-2019 07:29 AM)calwinston Wrote:  Looks like this thread is having a slow death. Does anyone like the Philippines anymore?

People in that country are rude, ignorant, arrogant, regressive, remote assholes who think their shit don't stink. The cities are trash, the food sucks, completely overpriced, throttled net speeds. Let's see what else?

If you stay for more than 6 months, expect to be treated like a freaking criminal before they allow you to leave, from the endless trips to immigration to the fingerprinting.

If you're mild mannered, reserved and a thinker you won't fit in with these remarkably slow, dimwitted people and you'll have to endure the constant disrespect.

I haven't even gotten to the heightened competition in metro areas now and the lack of available quality. This place does not deserve the consideration it's gotten. Even all the boomer types like Reekay and friends are feeling the pinch and their good ol boy network in Duma and Cebu is crumbling.

It's a shitty country with equally shitty people and bad vibes all around. Pinays are all over now so reason to come here.

Post: #7166

Quote:This place does not deserve the consideration it's gotten.

It deserved the consideration it's gotten, when it started getting it. From there it's been a steep decline and in 2019 your statement couldn't be more true.

From my experience for an okay looking guy, not classically handsome, not ugly

2011 - could get the hottest girls very, very easily
2013 - could get the hottest girls with some effort, and pretty hot ones very easily
2014 - gradual start of the decline
2017 - last year that was pretty much okay
2018 - pretty much over for quality... by which I mean girls that are hot
2019 - I now see white guys under 35 consistently dating down in BGC and Makati. It's appalling.

While in 2011 most expats were complaining about the country's infrastructure, pollution, food, internet, hotels, noise, heat, and general IQ level, "the pussy made it worth putting up with it"... that is definitely not the case anymore.

The only guys I see with hot Filipinas now are guys that would be considered legitimately good-looking back home in the West. Most everyone else is dating trolls here now. Oh, and older guys still get honeys sometimes, but they obviously pay.

As I.B. said, competition is very high now and quality is very low. I can match almost 200 girls with one boost, but the ones that are actually hot are more than unimpressed and hardly reply to messages, if I match them at all. If you don't need them to be super hot though, quantity over quality, definitely very much still available.

Bottom line, it depends how picky you are. If you want a bang mission with 30 lays in 30 days and don't care much about their looks, Philippines is still the best place in the world for that. If you want your girls to be hot, you better either be handsome yourself, or willing to pay, or pick a different country.

YEMV.

Post: #7167

I did PH only in 2018 so I can't comment on the decline personally, however a lot of SEA has changed. I did BKK a few years ago and have been back every year and while things are still doable I do see the changes.

I have talked to guys from RVF offline who did PH a few years ago and they have confirmed the decline is real.

Post: #7168

I realize this is a matter of personal taste.

I have also not been to Thailand or Vietnam, but I love the Phils. Ordinary, average guy, middle-aged and I pull girls 18 and up. I can see where the country may be lacking or perhaps some may get bored with the Filipinas, but it's all gravy in the Navy here.

Post: #7169

It is probably a reason for the decline in ease of the girls but Enhanced Eddie's timeline of decline follows pretty closely an uptick in livability and comfort of the Philippines.

Especially between 2016 and 2017 and it is still ongoing, there was/is a big improvement in many things such as:

- Way better and more widely available internet
- Airports have greatly improved
- Many more cool bars and restaurants
- Online shopping becoming decent
- Reliable, dignified transport (Grab)

All of which make reports on Metro Manila being a shithole seem quite outdated.

It's not just us either. I've seen upper working class/lower middle class families (nurses, policemen, teaches, office workers) lives get way more Western comforts that they would have never dreamed of in just the last couple of years.

Post: #7170

(03-09-2019 02:04 PM)Enhanced Eddie Wrote:  

Quote:This place does not deserve the consideration it's gotten.

It deserved the consideration it's gotten, when it started getting it. From there it's been a steep decline and in 2019 your statement couldn't be more true.

From my experience for an okay looking guy, not classically handsome, not ugly

2011 - could get the hottest girls very, very easily
2013 - could get the hottest girls with some effort, and pretty hot ones very easily
2014 - gradual start of the decline
2017 - last year that was pretty much okay
2018 - pretty much over for quality... by which I mean girls that are hot
2019 - I now see white guys under 35 consistently dating down in BGC and Makati. It's appalling.

While in 2011 most expats were complaining about the country's infrastructure, pollution, food, internet, hotels, noise, heat, and general IQ level, "the pussy made it worth putting up with it"... that is definitely not the case anymore.

The only guys I see with hot Filipinas now are guys that would be considered legitimately good-looking back home in the West. Most everyone else is dating trolls here now. Oh, and older guys still get honeys sometimes, but they obviously pay.

As I.B. said, competition is very high now and quality is very low. I can match almost 200 girls with one boost, but the ones that are actually hot are more than unimpressed and hardly reply to messages, if I match them at all. If you don't need them to be super hot though, quantity over quality, definitely very much still available.

Bottom line, it depends how picky you are. If you want a bang mission with 30 lays in 30 days and don't care much about their looks, Philippines is still the best place in the world for that. If you want your girls to be hot, you better either be handsome yourself, or willing to pay, or pick a different country.

YEMV.

You mention two things that explain it all. Makati and Tinder.

I don't even need to explain it, everyone knows, It's been reiterated for years how over played and worn out that market is.

So I have to ask, why Makati/BCG? Why tinder?

Post: #7171

@the-dream

Metro Manila is still absolutely a shithole and just because you have some poorly executed services doesn't mean shit.

Online vendors still run out of stock and still slow.

Grab still surges at every hour of the day.

Internet is ass unless you pay for Fiber.

Handful of decent places to eat are clustered in the Poblacion area but are overcrowded.

No one in their right mind should live in this asylum.

Post: #7172

It's true though, if you have money, you can live comfortably in Manila now. It's not as cheap as Thailand, but it's nearly first world standard in some parts.

Quote:So I have to ask, why Makati/BCG? Why tinder?

I posted this previously, but I'll reiterate... I spent a lot of time exploring all areas of Manila for daygame. It's all shit except for Malate (hooker area) and Poblacion (hooker area).

You see about one or two girls that are objectively hot per week in Manila (the "wow" effect, not "cute and bangable if I lower my standards to get my rocks off"), no matter where you are. So at that point, I'd rather be in BGC and actually have a nice standard of living.

Tinder is shit but so is Fil Cupid, Bumble and all the others. DIA and PL are downright atrocious now. So what does that leave us with? The city isn't target rich enough for cold approach. The appeal here was the ability to pick out the few hot ones online that you can hardly find walking around.

If I could, I would move to Thailand or South America today... unfortunately it'll be a few months still before I can make that happen. I know some here are skeptical of my posts like I just want to keep guys away from my pussy paradise, but you'll see me leave here as soon as I'm ready.

It's just too late. I see young white guys here now and I wanna go up to them and tell them "Dude... you're a few years late. Party's over."

Post: #7173

I do well on cupid, was on there a couple years ago, have not noticed any change. To add perspective I do well in my own country. The VERY few hot ones on there have as much attitude as a rating 2 >5 western women.

Seems like nowdays you have to up your value, I see this as a good thing.

Boots on the ground info. coming later this year.

Post: #7174

Im back home now. I decided to go down south and i spent time with one girl whom I found the most attractive, she's pretty damn hot in my opinion and personality wise she was great. Thats an underestimated quality i think for guys here, there was one girl from earlier in the trip who was also really attractive but she was a dead fish and despite her looks I just wasn't into it and never bothered to meet up with her again.

All in all, the trip was a success. The trip did make me realise that if i had to choose between sleeping with a high number of girls i didn't care that much for or spending time with a quality girl whom i did like, id choose the ladder. I think i prefer having the quality girlfriend then just sleeping around. Before this trip I had no idea and maybe that'll change over time we'll see.

Regarding MNL as a place for game, in my opinion its still paradise but its not as easy as just showing up and getting a hot girl to sit on your face it requires game, confidence and going through a lot of shit, such as flakes, change of date times, conflicting schedules which result in no dates, last minute changes the list goes on it can get frustrating but thats all part of it thats why I think you'd do well if your staying for 30 days + gives you time to work around mistakes. Ultimately, they are girls who are the same as the girls you'd meet anywhere else the biggest difference is that MNL is just easier. Still haven't tried day game but i truly think thats the key to getting the hottest girls.

Not that I did this but another thing I noticed was that when you go down to smaller provinces such as Iloilo or bacolod etc Tinder is actually easier and getting the hotter girls is even more possible because theres almost no younger white foreigners around. Its kind of a joke but logistics can be a nightmare

I have two questions:

1) In terms of going back to 'reality' how do you guys not get depressed? Focusing on money and starting to look into the next trip seems to help me at the moment.

2) Besides MNL and BKK which would be the next best cities in terms of girls, english levels etc, Jakarta or Saigon?

Post: #7175

(03-10-2019 04:45 AM)kazz Wrote:  I do well on cupid, was on there a couple years ago, have not noticed any change.

I thought I'd set up an account on there just for the hell of it. I never bothered before because of all the posts on here saying how it has fallen off a cliff edge in recent years. I guess I'll see what happens...